Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War: The Story Of Daesh And Boko Haram

On March 8, the International Women’s Day is being celebrated all over the world. At least, that's the idea: in many parts of the world, women won’t be celebrating. On the contrary, they may be fighting to survive the day.

The theme of this year’s campaign on International Women's Day is "Be Bold for Change." My own pledge, to take action and to campaign against violence, is part of this. The type of violence I want to discuss as a part of my pledge is the rape and sexual abuse of girls and women in conflict. Although rape and sexual violence may be perpetrated against all genders, statistically, girls and women are the most common victims.

Rape and sexual violence remain under-reported, and under-discussed crimes, something which needs to change both within and outside situations of conflict. It has to be emphasized that our perception of rape and sexual violence in conflict has changed over time. Rape and sexual violence used to be perceived as inevitable by-products of war, the spoils of an invading army or a successful conqueror. However, the international community now recognizes that rape and sexual violence is often used as a deliberate military strategy to demoralize an enemy. This shift in recognition has been significant, especially as it has allowed for the prosecution of sexual violence in conflict. In accordance with this new perception, on 19 June 2008, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1820 on the use of sexual violence in war, indicating that "rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide."

A year later, in 2009, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict was established by the UN Security Council Resolution 1888. The Office works towards ending impunity for sexual violence in conflict, protecting and empowering the survivors and developing strategies to combat sexual violence in conflict. According to its official website, the Office has eight priority countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central African Republic, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, South Sudan and Sudan. The Office is also engaged in Syria and Cambodia. While six of the priority countries are in Africa, it is surprising that Nigeria is not one of the countries of priority. Also, considering the widespread use of rape and sexual violence by Daesh in Syria and Iraq, it is disappointing to note that this does not appear to be reflected in the focus of the Office.

Rape and sexual violence have been widely practiced as a weapon of war throughout armed conflicts all over the world. However, the use of rape and sexual violence is not a military strategy of the past – conversely, rape and sexual violence are widely used today in a number of conflicts, including by Daesh and Boko Haram, terrorist groups that are key parties to conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Nigeria and West Africa. Daesh and Boko Haram fighters have committed sex and gender-based violence, including sexual slavery, rape, forced marriage, and forced pregnancies. The atrocities are widespread.

Nonetheless, the extent of the rape and sexual violence perpetrated by Daesh and Boko Haram are still under-reported. This is despite the numerous testimonies given by survivors, including the testimonies of Nadia Murad, the UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.

Stories of Yazidi and Christian girls and women being sold to Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria, sexually abused and raped by every ‘husband’ they were forcibly ‘married’ to, have been circulating in the media since 2014. Thanks to Nadia Murad and her legal representation, Amal Clooney of London’s Doughty Street Chambers, many of these testimonies have seen light at the United Nations. Similarly, Lamiya Aji Bashar, Yazidi survivor of Daesh atrocities, has been raising awareness of the Daesh crimes against Yazidi girls and women at international institutions, including the European Parliament. Nadia and Lamiya have bravely told their stories again and again and so encouraged other survivors to speak up and speak out. And there are many other survivors of Daesh atrocities out there yet to be heard.

Nadia Murad (R) and Lamiya Aji Bashar speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on December 13, 2016. (Credit: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images)

The documentary Our Last Stand, directed by Jordan Allott in cooperation with In Defence of Christians, and which I was lucky to see when it was shown recently at the UK House of Commons, includes a testimony of a young Yazidi woman speaking out about the rape and sexual violence she suffered at the hands of Daesh fighters in Iraq. She expressed a wish to die rather than to endure such abuse every day. The documentary also incorporates a short video of Daesh fighters cheerfully discussing their next sex slave purchases. They wanted young girls, with blue or green eyes, and with good teeth. They were willing to pay more to get the girls they wanted. The discussion among them seemed normal. A chilling glimpse into the reality of the girls and women enslaved and abused by Daesh.

During my recent trip to Iraq, I was shown a document, dated October 16, 2014, listing the prices for the purchase of Yazidi and Christian girls and women. The prices ranged from 75,000 Iraqi Dinar (about $64) for a thirty- to forty-year-old woman, to 200,000 Iraqi Dinar (about $170) for a girl between one and nine years old. Overall, the younger the girl or woman was, the higher the price to be paid – the sight of such prices being paid for babies and young children filled me with unimaginable horror at the pain they would go through.

So, for as little as $64.00-170.00, Yazidi and Christian girls would become the property of Daesh fighters, who would then subject them to abuse on a daily basis. Furthermore, in 2016 it came to light that to maintain a supply of sex slaves Daesh has forced enslaved girls and women to take contraceptives, or to undergo abortions if they become pregnant, causing additional severe consequences for the physical and psychological health of these girls and women. Abortion, especially conducted in unsanitary environments and by unqualified personnel, is associated with high mortality rates through fatal complications such as hemorrhaging, infections, sepsis and the perforation of internal organs.

The practices of Boko Haram are no different. Boko Haram’s use of sexual violence against girls and women first gained international attention when on April 14, 2014, the terrorist group abducted 276 girls, mostly between 16 and 18years of age, from a secondary school in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. The ensuing social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls gained the attention of worldwide media and was supported by a number of celebrities, but was largely unsuccessful in motivating any operation to secure their release. As the third anniversary of the Chibok attack approaches, international attention to the campaign is fading while the whereabouts of 195 girls are still unknown. Nonetheless, it has to be emphasized that the Boko Haram atrocities have affected much greater numbers than those kidnapped at Chibok.

A member of Bring Back Our Girls movement carries a banner in Lagos, on April 14, 2016. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)

It is reported that Boko Haram attacks on girls and women became more frequent in 2013, a year before the assault on the high school in Chibok. Boko Haram chooses its targets for a variety of reasons, including on the basis of the religion of its targets, for tactical reasons including land control and often targets schools especially those which are attended by girls and women. Abducted girls and women are subjected to sex and gender-based violence, including forced marriage, rape and sexual abuse.

The use of rape and sexual violence by Boko Haram against girls and women was identified by the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as one a number of possible future prosecutions there. However, as Nigeria is still in the preliminary examinations of crimes committed by Boko Haram and awaiting decision whether any official investigations will be initiated, the international interest in the topic remains limited.

Rape and sexual violence in conflict cannot be treated as insignificant. The impact of the crimes committed by Daesh and Boko Haram on girls and women in Iraq, Syria and Nigeria is devastating. Girls and women are subjected to physical and psychological harm. Even if the girls and women survive the attacks and the abuse, there are various challenges that they will face once free of Boko Haram or Daesh. They will likely struggle with mental or physical injuries requiring medical assistance, therapy and counseling that is much more difficult to access in their countries. These abused girls and woman may also struggle to reintegrate into the society because of the stigma associated with the sexual nature of abuse they have suffered.

In both of the above cases, attacks on women and girls are conducted on a large scale and systematically. Rape and sexual violence are used as weapons of war against local communities to establish control as well as a mechanism of punishment for resistance. In both cases, girls and women are often sold into slavery or given to fighters as a form of payment. Additionally, the terrorist groups' attitude towards the girls and women they abuse is chillingly casual and dehumanizing. Both cases show that is it crucial to address the issue of rape and sexual violence in conflict and that atrocities committed by Boko Haram and Daesh should be a particular focus of these efforts.

It needs to be recognized that girls and women in conflicts like those in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria are just like you and me. They could just as easily be your mother; your sister; your daughter, or friend; even a neighbor that you pass in the street. Rape and sexual violence are as unacceptable in faraway conflicts as they are in day-to-day life. Hence, speak up and speak out. Be bold for change.

Ewelina U. Ochab is a legal researcher and human rights advocate, and author of the book “Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East.” Ochab works on the topic of persecution of minorities around the world, with main projects including Daesh genocid...